McCall's M7430...

So I got a bee in my bonnet and decided to make a dress today.  I actually had two sewing projects waiting (because they wouldn't fit in the fabric drawer...oops).  This was one but fortunately (unfortunately?) I had a ton of this fabric left over, so I set it aside for a top.

Anyway, I used McCall's M7430.  Here's the pattern:

Sadly I bought this pattern when I was still heavier which means the smallest size on the pattern was 14 36/28/28.  I cut the 14 but it ended up being too large.

So I took it down one size which would be a 12 34/26.5/36.  It was still too big.  It ended up fitting as a size 10 32.5/25/34.5.  Now this is insane because I know those are not my measurements which leads me to believe this McCall's pattern runs way big.

Regardless, I think it turned out great and I look super fit in this picture so yay for that.

If you make this, I'd recommend sizing down.  That's all for today!

Butterick 6388...

Generally my experience with Butterick is that it's always too big.  This pattern is multi-sized which is another sewing red flag for me.  Since I've lost a lot of weight this year, I didn't know exactly what my size was before attempting my Halloween costume.  Before I was making 16, 18 and sometimes 20.  Now I'm making 14 and sometimes 12.  This pattern I bought a long time ago so I bought the larger size.  I attempted to cut it down to the M size.  I suppose it worked because it turned out nice.  (I had to hurry to get this done despite cutting it out what seems like a million years ago because my sewing room will be commandeered by my best friend who'll be staying here for Christmas and New Year's.)

Anyway, here's the pattern:

I made D which this time stands for dress.

Here's how it turned out:

It's cute even though the pockets sit a little weird.  I am, however, super in love with the collar:

That's it for this year.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  I'll start sewing again next year.

Simplicity 2850...

I made a jumper dress which works pretty good for winter.

For this I used Simplicity 2850 and some fabric that had just been sitting in my to-be-made cabinet.

Here's the pattern:

All in all this was pretty easy to make.  I scrapped the button accents because I'm lazy, and they just seemed annoying.

Here's how it turned out:

Looking at this picture I was reminded that I need a new cinch waist belt (as this one pictured has gotten too big), so I went to eBay to buy one just now.  I did make the pictured belt but I cut it on the wrong grain of the fabric, so it doesn't stretch properly.  Also, I don't think it looks so great and needs a little contrast.

Here's a close up of the fabric:

That's it for today!

The Great Pants Project 2017...

I'm in the midst of making all the pants I made last year fit me now.  First I took on these which were a real pain because the material is a little stretchy and it took forever to get them to fit me properly.

The picture on the left was taken a year and two months ago.

The lighting is different as it's a different room in a different house (in a different city no less), but I guarantee you these are the same pants.  I'm glad they fit now.  You can see the original work here.

Using that same pattern I had cut these pants out around the same time but they didn't fit when I tried them on at that time, but now, of course, they were too big so this is the second pair I took in.

(No before pic of these pants because I never finished them.  Also, I'm pretty sure I have no idea which side the zipper actually goes on.)

Finally, the last ones I fixed for today were these:

I took a picture of me wearing these pants just for fun.  Trust me, they are the same pants.  These weren't so difficult to fix since the zipper was in the middle and I didn't have to mess with it at all.  (Here's the original work.)

Here's a better view:

(Yes, these are the same pants!  Hard to believe I know.)

My back is killing me, so I'm calling it a night.  I now have three pairs of pants that fit me perfectly just in time for colder weather.

Edit: Today I finished the last pair of pants.

Here's the original work.

There's one more pair of pants to fix but they have a double elastic waist, so I probably won't fix them for a while.  Plus, they are not winter wear.

I'm glad to have a nice stock pile of pants now!

Halloween 2017!

A little late on this one.  Sorry about that.  For Halloween this year I went as myself.  Now hold on.  I didn't Heidi Klum anything around here.  I went as myself as a Pokémon Go trainer.

To make this I used the two different trainer patterns available.  For the jacket I used McCall's 7556:

It wasn't very difficult.  Just the zipper was a pain in the butt.

For the sprint suit I used Simplicity 8410:

This was more difficult because the shiny fabric I bought was pretty cheap and ended up running a couple times.  Also, I could never get the zipper the sit straight, but I figured who cares as it's just a costume.

Here's the finished product (in two versions):

I actually ended up wearing this costume 4 times which I think is a record for me.  I just had so many events this year.

Regarding the Mimikyu hat, I made it by hand without a pattern, and I think it turned out pretty good considering it's the first time I've ever made a hat.

Here's a closer look:

I hope you had a happy Halloween!

Halloween preview 2017...

Hello!  It's officially the best month of the year and half way through it at that!  My Halloween costume is about 50% done.

Here's a sneak peek!

By the way if you guess what it is and comment publicly, I'll cut you.  Happy Halloween!

Fixing stuff...

So if you're late to the party I've recently lost 16kg (35 pounds).  A lot of my clothes ended up being donated either to H&M or Goodwill.  However, some were salvageable, so I spent my Sunday morning fixing a bunch of clothes to make them fit better and just like that we have new clothes.

First, this was a maxi dress from Wal-Mart (which wasn't particularly expensive especially since I bought it at Goodwill but I like the colors).  When I lost weight, the top of the dress became too big.  Voilà!  Skirt!

Next, this was another dress (from Gap) that became just a little too big, so I made it into a skirt.

 

Next, this was a skirt I made 100 years ago and I can't remember ever wearing it which is a shame because the print is so cute.  I decided to shorten it in the hopes that I'll wear it.

 

The last of the skirts was formerly a dinosaur dress (from Modcloth) that also became too big in the top.  Not being one to ever part with anything dinosaurs, I made it into a cute skirt.  I love it.

 

Finally, I bought this dress from Uniqlo.  I liked it but thought it was too long.  Well, it turns out I made it too short to wear to work, but I can pair it with leggins and it'll be fine.

That's all.  I haven't sewn anything really because the last thing I made (albeit super cute) was too big.  Once I finish losing weight, I'll measure myself and I can start sewing again.

Simplicity 8124...

I've not posted anything here since February.  I have piles of fabric purchased in Tokyo in January and in March that have been sitting in my sewing room.  I've not sewn anything since my last post in February.  In truth sewing clothes just isn't fun when you're heavier.  (Neither is shopping for clothes for that matter).  Upon my newest milestone (which would be a shit ton of weight lost) I decided I would try something out.

Simplicity 8124:

Originally I had planned to make the mini dress, but I can't say no to an adorable romper.  (No matter how hard I try.)

This was super easy to make and went together in a few hours.  It's multi-sized which I hate and I think I should have sized down as it's a little baggy.  I'm going to try to fix that later.

Pictured without and with belt (personally I like the one with the belt better).

Here's a close up of the fabric:

If you're so inclined you can look back on past blog posts if you want to see the dramatic difference in my weight.  That's not what this blog is about, so I'm not posting any before/after pics.  Anyway if you make this, maybe size down.  I hate multi-sized patterns as they always end up big on me.  That's all for now!

Butterick 6427...

Hi, I'm back at it again with my beloved knits.  This time I took at stab at Butterick 6427.  First, of all, my experience with Butterick patterns is that they never fit right.  Ugh.  This one was no different, and it's mult-sized in one cut which makes it that much more awful.  I opted for the L size but I should have done M.  It was a tent.  I had to take it in many times before I could get a fit that I was happy with.

Here's the pattern:

Here's how it turned out:

Not bad, but it's not flattering (it's not supposed to be though as it's lounge wear/workout gear) so I belted it.

Here's a close up of the fabric:

I like this dress (?).  It was easy to make and comfortable, but if you decide to make this size down!

"She's doing a marvelous impression of a deflating balloon."

Hello!  I'm back!  I'm here with the last of the Holtzmann pieces.  So these pants I found the be the hardest to find via purchasing.

In the film they look shiny but in the above behind the scenes photo, they appear to look just like normal pants (not shiny at all).

Since I couldn't find a pair of pants like that to purchase, I decided to make them.  This also proved to be a challenge as I couldn't find the color or the stripe pattern at Joann's.  However, I did manage to find a interior decor fabric which had stripe variations.  The only problem was it was cream colored.  I decided to buy it and dye it. 

I wish I had a before picture but here's what it looks like after two dye baths using Emerald Green Rit Dye.

That's not the best photo.  It's darker IRL.

To make these pants I used Simplicity 1165:

I made A pants and just cut them shorter than they were meant to be.

Here's how they turned out:

The good news is that they are super comfortable, but I cut a size bigger than I normally wear (because you never know with pants).  It turns out they were way too big, and I had to take them in a bit.  The end result is that they are still baggier than I would like, but since I'm lazy as hell, I'm calling it a day.

I like this pattern.  It's super easy and I'll happily make these again albeit in a smaller size.

"Second floor is mine!"

Holy crap!  Remind me NEVER to make a Mimi G pattern ever again.  This process was so painful, but I now finally have the end scene Holtzmann jumpsuit.  This is the scene when they finally get the firehouse.  There are tons of photos from this scene out there but for your pleasure:

So this is the pattern I used.  It's Simplicity 8060 but it's not at all easy:

For starters there are 9 billion pattern pieces and there are lots of complex finishing touches that I normally don't have to do when I sew.  Additionally, the fly is really really complex, and I'm almost certain I didn't do it right.

Anyway, here's mine:

(Please note that I don't have a cool Holtzmann belt, but I do have a cool X-Men belt.  I'm sure Holtzy would approve.)

Now no way is this perfect, but I'm wearing a smirk of satisfaction on my face because I literally cried while making this.  It was massively difficult and quite possibly beyond my ability level.  (You'll notice I'm surrounded by boxes because I'm moving in like 3 days.  Therefore, I had to give this pattern my all so I could finish it before moving.)  Now I know the picture makes the fabric look brown but it's actually an army green color.

It really photographs weird.  It's also pretty delicate and really slippery fabric adding to the difficulty I faced while constructing this.

I made a few changes to the pattern.  First, I made the sleeves long sleeves so they could be rolled.  I also did away with the drawstring waist and attached the top directly to the pants.

I'm so glad this is done.  It was an absolute nightmare to put together.  Next time I see you, I'll be sewing from my new sewing room!

Burda 6817...

Hi, I made a pair of pants last night!  It's another for the Burda adventures.  Holy cow, I cut this pattern bigger than last time because the last pair of pants made with this pattern (not pictured on the blog) are a little too tight.  Now this pair was too big and had to be adjusted.  I seriously do not get Burda patterns man (or maybe I just don't get fabric man).

Just like before Burda 6817:

Here are the pants:

I swear I ironed these twice, and they're still wrinkly.  Sheesh.  Just like before so easy to assemble, no problems in construction.  I'm pretty happy with the way these turned out.

Here's a close up of the fabric:

Tiny dots!

Now while these aren't an official Holtzmann costume, I really think this is something she'd wear.  Don't you?

That's all for today!

"You try saying no to these salty parabolas" Part 1...

Just a quick hello from Holtz Center here in Japan.

Forthcoming will be the entire Salty Parabolas outfit.  I currently need the overalls for my Halloween costume (which is unfortunately not Holtzmann).

Meanwhile, take a gander at the crop top I "made". 

Made is in quotes because I kind of made it in just 4 easy steps. 

1. First, I bought a forest green shirt from eBay.
2. Second, I cut out the neck as is the Holtzmann way.
3. Third, I hacked off the bottom of the shirt.
4. Finally, I hemmed it so it wouldn't roll.

That's it!  Half of the Salty Parabolas outfit is done.  Stay tuned for the overalls following Halloween.

"Second floor is mine" Sneak Preview...

About halfway done with this but couldn't help snapping a sneak preview pic for ya.

This has been an absolute nightmare to construct.  Full details to follow.

"Rhythm of the Night" Part 1...

Perhaps you remember this iconic scene when Holtzmann dances to DeBarge's Rhythm of the Night even though Abby didn't mean to "DeBarge in".

If not, look at this GIF.  Look at it for a long time.  It's okay.  I'll wait.

Finished?  Need more time?  Take all the time you need.

Okay, when you're back to reading, I made some pants I'd like to share with you.  To get Holtzmann's wide leg high waist vintage look, I went to Burda.

I used this pattern (Burda 6817):

Once I figured out what size to cut, assembling this was no problem.  (However, I cut another pair of pants out using a dramatically different fabric and they didn't fit, so I clearly do not understand Burda patterns.)

They turned out pretty good (the zipper bunches a little but that could be my inexperience as a seamstress).  (Uh...about those Spanx I still need...)

Now these shoes are outfit correct.  I bought mine on eBay.  Make sure you get brown and white as those are screen accurate.

That's all for today.  Stay tuned for "Rhythm of the Night" Parts 2 & 3!